Ireland holds the record for the most Eurovision Song Contest wins. But the seven-time champion has to qualify through a semi-final to take part in this weekend's final, despite the less successful UK, Spain, Italy, Germany and France all getting an automatic place in the showpiece.
Ireland was so dominant in Eurovision in the 1990s that Father Ted's 'My Lovely Horse' even parodied the song contest. While wins have dried up since then - even modern-day struggler the UK has won it more recently - Ireland still tops the all-time charts for Eurovision Song Contest wins.
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Nowadays, Ireland has to progress through a semi-final to make it into the Eurovision Song Contest Final. Spain, whose last win came in the '60s, doesn't have to qualify. As the Republic's 2022 entry Brooke Scullion might say, "That's Rich".
Since the semi-finals were introduced, Ireland has failed to make it to the final nine times. Brooke will have to make it into the top 10 in tonight's semi-final if the 23-year-old is to sing in Saturday's final. Meanwhile, the UK's entry, Sam Ryder, is already assured of his place.
Why does Eurovision have semi-finals?
The end of the Cold War and the creation of new independent European countries in the early 1990s meant more and more nations were competing for the first time, with the Iron Curtain raised. That meant Eurovision had to start placing a cap on entries, its website says.
Otherwise, the contest would go on for even longer than it does already - although that would arguably be preferable to how long they draw out the voting process these days...
Audio-only qualification rounds were introduced along with a relegation system for nations that scored badly the previous year. But they posed a problem, as it opened up the chance that one of the bigger countries - with the most viewers and money for the European Broadcasting Union - could miss out on the final. It happened to Germany in 1996.
In 2004, a semi-final system was introduced, which was extended to two semi-finals from 2008. But from 2000, a new rule was introduced to stop countries like Germany from missing out on the final.
Why Ireland is in Eurovision semi-finals but UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain don't have to qualify
While the UK, France, Germany and Spain have all won Eurovision - and five-time champion the UK has a prouder record than the modern viewer may think - Ireland has won it more times than any of them. But Ireland has to qualify through a semi-final and the others don't. Why is that?
As mentioned above, Eurovision introduced a rule in 2000 which assures the 'Big Five' countries - the ones that contribute the most financially to the European Broadcasting Union - of a place in the Eurovision final. Those five nations are France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom - all countries with far bigger populations than Ireland. Since 2004, any country that is not in the Big Five or hosting the contest as the reigning winner has to progress through the semi-finals to make it to the Eurovision final.
Essentially, because Ireland is a smaller country than the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, its entrant has to qualify.
Ireland did not have to qualify through a semi-final for any of its winning years - in 1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1996. The UK last won in 1997, France in 1977, Italy in 2021, Germany in 2010 and Spain in 1969.
